Toyah

Read this from the Belmont Club.

Typically, the talk at this point in an election cycle surrounds the Challenger's (Kerry's) pick for VP. This time around, however, it appears the Bush ticket could steal a little of Kerry's thunder with talk about replacing Cheney's spot on the ticket. Cheney is seen more and more as a liability rather than an asset, what with Haliburton, Cheney's support for the now disgraced Chalabi, and his overall role in the war in Iraq. Another consideration is 2008. Cheney will probably not be a contender to replace Bush and selecting a new runningmate would help insure a contest when Hillary makes her move.

So, who to replace Cheney? The top choices are probably Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and George Pataki, and in that order. None of these men are true Republicans, and to choose one of them would signal the end of the Reagan Era of the Republican party. Nevertheless, their name recognition and, for Pataki and Giuliani, the potential to put NY in play, make them hard to pass up. James Gannon posits that former Sen. John Danforth might be a good choice. I have no preference. I like Cheney but think the war on terror can only succeed if Bush stays in office. I am willing to sacrifice Cheney (and take a squishy Giuliani) if it means victory in 2004, and perhaps a challenger to Hillary in 2008. Who could have imagined it; a Texas-New York team would be unstoppable!

As for Cheney, Gannon suggests Bush is too loyal to remove Cheney in a unilateral preemptive strike, so to speak. Cheney must be willing to give up his position on his own. Cheney for CIA Director?

Though work, Review, and family duties have not afforded as much time to read as I had hoped, I finally finished Sphinx. I'm not sure what's next. I bought Karen Hughes's memoir, Ten Minutes from Normal, as well as the new Hamilton book. I've got a couple of others I've had for a while, including Hayward's Age of Reagan, and I'm torn over where to go next. While I try to decide, I think I'll read C.S. Lewis's Problem of Pain. Good, quick read, but always worth coming back to. I guess I'll go on to Hughes, unless it turns out to be a dud. I'll let you know.

Joseph Ellis's American Sphinx: The character of Thomas Jefferson was very well done. Ellis had established himself with me as a lucid and entertaining writer in Founding Brothers (published after Sphinx) and does not disappoint in his biography of the best-known of the founding fathers--other than Washington and, if you are a Jay-Walking All Star, Abe Lincoln. Ellis's primary subjects are TJ's abilities to hold several seemingly contradictory beliefs at once, and to profess very strong ideals while often violating those ideals when confronted with reality. Jefferson was a master at self-deception, a trait that, when mixed with his very strong "republican" or limited government beliefs, make him, I think, the quintessential Libertarian. Though every party claims Jefferson as their own (after all, FDR built the Jefferson Memorial as the Democrat counter-weight to the Republican Lincoln Memorial), his multi-faceted personality and often self-contradictory beliefs provide a little for everyone, making him an ideal addition to the American Pantheon, and a subject worthy of Ellis's skill.

Scientists working independently in Boulder, CO, and Innsbruk, Austria, have successfully teleported an atom, reports NYT. Though they are far from being able to teleport large objects, such as away-teams or exploding anti-matter, they hope the technology will be helpful in developing computers capable of processing many complex problems at once rather than having to calculate each possibility separately. Here's how they say atom teleporting works:

First, atoms B and C were brought together, making them "entangled" and creating an invisible link between the two atoms no matter how far apart they were. Atom C was moved away. Next, A and B were similarly entangled.

Then the scientists measured the energy states of A and B, essentially opening the boxes to see whether each contained a 1 or a zero. Because B had been entangled with C, opening A and B created an instant change in atom C, what Albert Einstein called "spooky action at a distance," and this, in essence, set a combination lock on atom C, with the data in A and B serving as the combination.

For the final step, the combination was sent and a pulse of laser light was applied to atom C, almost magically turning it into a replica of the original A. Atom A was teleported to atom C.

Hehe.. "spooky action at a distance."

I like movies that explore philosophical themes, mostly because I get bored easily watching most films and these give my mind something to do. This website, suggested by Tyler Cowen at Volokh, lists a number of movies by philosophical theme. One of my favorites is Contact in the "Faith versus Reason" category. Other notables are Jacob the Liar, under "Deontology versus Utilitarianism," and Minority Report, addressing "free will and determinism, philosophy of law and theories of punishment, political philosophy, [and] desert and responsibility."

There are several movies here that I haven't seen but would like to: The Lord of the Flies (Contractarianism and the State of Nature), Requiem for a Dream (Relativism), and Pi (Metaphysics and Mathematics). I am adding them to my NetFlix queue now...

I just saw a free screening of the new quasi-independent release, Napoleon Dynamite. The show connected with and brought back many memories from a unique part of my adolescence; it took me back to my four years in Colorado. From 1988-1992 I lived in Southern Colorado's San Luis Valley, a 60-mile wide valley home to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, numerous potato farms, the Great Sand Dunes National Monument, and the surrounding Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges. I lived in Colorado from my 4th through 7th grades, right at the height of Trapper-Keepers, Casio watches, and various 80's bands. I rode the bus to school. I wore space-shoe-looking snow boots. I rode my bike everywhere. My closest friend was an outcast from south of the border (Texas). I had crushes on girls who thought I was a geek. I was a geek, and I did not fit in. Oh, and I loved Ninjas.

All of the above describe the life of Napoleon Dynamite, a social misfit living in rural Idaho with his Grandma and 30-year-old unemployed brother. NApoleon struggles for accepptance, makes some new friends, and relives the late 80s/early 90s lingo perfectly ("You guys are retarded!"). Granted, my life was not exactly like Napoleon's, but it was eerily similar, and I can't help but think that if it hadn't been for a fortuitous return to Texas for my 8th grade and high school years, I very well could have turned out just like Napoleon. Well, maybe I did, but I'll leave that for you to decide.

There is a lot in Napoleon Dynamite for us Gen-Xers to identify with. (Mostly the Casio wrist watch and the ninjas). See the movie. It's funny, it will make you feel good, and it will take you back a few years. Napoleon Dynamite is probably coming to a theater near you very soon. (Check the web site for a list of free screening locations).

I am partial to giving books as gifts. Spence Publishing has proven a reliable source for good titles at an affordable price.

I'm giving my dad this one for Father's Day:

The Supreme Court's decision in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow is correct and was predicted. A friend and supporter of TROLP has written a good summary of the decision's substance for National Review Online.

When the oldest cask is opened,
And the largest lamp is lit;
When the chestnuts glow in the embers,
And the kid turns on the spit;
When young and old in circle
Around the firebrands close;
When the girls are weaving baskets,
And the lads are shaping bows;

When the goodman mends his armour,
And trims his helmet¡¦s plume;
When the goodwife¡¦s shuttle merrily
Goes flashing through the loom;
With weeping and with laughter
Still is the story told,
How well Horatius kept the bridge
In the brave days of old.

Macaulay, Horatius

"And how stands the city on this winter night? After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home." -- Ronald Reagan

The Supreme Court has granted cert on a case bringing such issues as prohibition, states' rights, and federal control of interstate commerce back to the limelight. (Read the AP short). Most of you won't find this interesting, but this is just the sort of fresh constitutional issue that excites nerds like myself. (We need something!)

The cases are Granholm v. Heald (as in Michigan Gov. Jennifer Grahholm); Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association v. Heald; and Swedenburg v. Kelly.